Monday, July 28, 2008

S.A Champs




Eastern Province Surfing Team made history on the final day of the 2008 Reef Wetsuits SA Championships at Victoria Bay Sunday July 27 when they won the Presidents Cup for the first time.Thanks to brilliant performances in their respective finals by their newly crowned SA Men's Champion Shaun Payne and Under 20 Boys champion Nick Godfrey, plus some fine supporting efforts by Men's runner up Simon Fish and Under 20 Girls runner up Faye Zoetmulder.

The final day of competition in the 43rd SA Championships was held in typical 4 - 6 foot Victoria Bay surf that peeled across the bay right up until the last siren. A few rain squalls did nothing to spoil the great vibe created by hosts Southern Cape who made sure that the 200 or so visitors from as far afield as Durban were well looked after.
Southern Cape created a bit of history themselves when the brilliant fourteen year old Bianca Buitendag took the Under 20 Girls title in style to become the youngest surfer ever to win a title in any division at the South African Championships.

Competing in the Under 18 Division, Buitendag came seventh in the recent ISA World Junior Championships in France then won the Mr Price Pro Junior in Durban before coming second in a major Pro Junior event in France just 10 days ago.
During the SA Championships none of her heat scores were under 16 out of a possible 20 points and during the event she scored a 9.50 ride, the highest single wave score in any division. Buitendag’s points in the final were 16.5 giving her an average heat score of 17 and understandably she was awarded the trophy as the Junior Surfer of the Contest.

Nick Godfrey waited until the Final of the Under 20 Boys Division to show what he is capable of and despite the best efforts of local star Shaun Joubert, Godfrey had the edge over the favourite beating him into second spot by 16.5 points to 14.5.

In a thrilling Men's Final the lead changed hands at least four times but in the end it was Shaun Payne who posted 17.40 points in the heat and his EP teammate Simon Fish managed 15.25 to grab the runner-up berth.Southern Cape talisman Llewellyn Whittaker needed one more good wave after his 9.0 point ride to make a charge for the lead but his 13 points were only good enough for third place. Nevertheless his fine performance throughout the event and his huge backhand attack on every wave he rode made him a popular choice as Surfer of the Contest.Matthew Kruger of KZN on 12.75 was fourth.

In winning the Presidents Cup, Eastern Province scored 41560 points to Border's 37954 points while Western Province were third with 34370.Southern KZN scored 33684 to finish fourth, KZN were fifth on 32746, Boland came sixth with 25270 and Southern Cape were seventh on 21794.
Southern Cape with their sterling performance once again would have finished in the top three but it is due to the lack of "Colour" in our team that led to the last place finish as point were deducted because of this. I now want to make a huge call to everyone and anyone out there that is interested in surfing to please contact me. It is a great sport with a fantastic life style and plenty of opportunities which can to be enjoyed my every color and race.

FULL RESULTSOPEN MEN1. SHAUN PAYNE (EP)2. SIMON FISH (EP)3. LLWELLYN WHITTAKER (S/CAPE)4. MATT KRUGER (KZN)OPEN WOMEN1. HEATHER CLARK (S/KZN)2. STACEY GUY (WP)3. KIRSTY DELPORT (KZN)4. ROXY TOWILL (WP)UNDER 20 BOYS1. NICK GODFREY (EP)2. SHAUN JOUBERT (S/CAPE)3. MICHAEL FEBRUARY (WP)4. CLINTON GRAVETT (BOR)UNDER 20 GIRLS1. BIANCA BUITENDAG (S/CAPE)2. FAYE ZOETMULDER (EP)3. ALICE MC GREGOR (BOR)4. CHANTELLE RAUTENBACH (BOL)JUNIOR SURFER OF THE CONTEST BIANCA BUITENDAG (S/CAPE)SURFER OF THE CONTESTLLWELLYN WHITTAKER (S/CAPE)TEAMS1. EASTERN PROVINCE 415602. BORDER 379543. WP 343704. SOUTHERN KZN 326845. KZN 327466. BOLAND 252707. SOUTHERN CAPE 21794